fermented dilly beans with white film?

michelelcOctober 3, 2012

I started a half gallon jar of fermented dilly beans Sat., Sept. 23. I used the recipe from the Joy of Pickling, which said to ferment for 2 weeks. Tonight, I checked on them, and they were no longer bubbling and I noticed a little bit of mold on the top. So, I opened them up and skimmed off the mold (I had used a zip loc bag to keep them submerged). The beans seem to have a white film on them? All the beans were submerged, so I don't think it would be mold?? I'm new to fermenting, is this from the salt? I used the sea salt that came with the Perfect Pickler jar top I bought. I tried a few and they didn't taste moldy. Is this white film normal?

Michele, the good old trick when you see this, is to add a little mustard powder or/and turmeric. For half gallon I would add about half tea spoon,just sprinkle on the surface. It will take care of film quite fast (1-2 days) and should not change taste of your ferment. This is an old trick and it works like a charm. Turmeric will give your ferment a little golden shade.
I usually add them preventively several days after active fermentation starts. If you add them from the begining, it will slow fermentation, so it is important to wait few days before adding them. You don't really need both, whatever you have will work, but I usually add mustard and turmeric.
Olga

Deborah, I always add turmeric and mustard to my dill pickles for this particular reason. Just check that mustard powder does not contain other things, just mustard. Some brands have other additives. I believe turmeric is more potent in preventig films, but mustard is very good if you already have mold on the surface. Mustard will float on the surface and turmeric will go down. If you already have a lot of mold/yeast contamination,they probably will not help, but milder cases can be treated very successfuly and of course prevention is the best approach. For prevention you will need even less to add. Honestly I never measure, just shake over some.
Olga

Olga, I neglected to ask, is Michele dealing with kalm yeast on her beans?

I have noted I don't get the kalm yeast (if that's what it is) on Broccoli/ cauliflower ferments, only on carrots and cucumbers.

My experience with dilly beans is limited since I've only fermented two batches, the second of which I'm opening today.

Also, have you heard anything about toxins being present in beans that haven't been parboiled first? The booklet that came with my Harsch suggests beans be lightly cooked first, which I neglected to do. What do you think?

I have zero experience with fermenting beans. All my comments are just for general vegetable ferments. Don't see why beans should be different in this aspect, but everything is possible. I ferment cucumbers, cabbage,broccoli/ cauliflower peppers, tomatos, eggplanrs, patisson squash, zucchini, garlic, mushrooms and probably some other things that I forgot to mention now.
Olga

The book, Making Sauerkraut, by Kaufmann and Schoneck says beans contain a toxin, phasin, which decomposes when heated. They suggest cooking the beans 5 minutes before ferment. Presumably this toxin interferes with digestion. I'm going to find out more, if I can.